| Join Our List
|
|
| Meditation Maintenance |
|
|
Wed, October 3, 7-9 PM
Jump start your meditation practice this fall by joining our monthly Meditation Maintenance classes
at the Wright Tavern Center in Concord, MA.
These are drop-in sessions for students who have some previous experience with meditation and want to deepen their informal and formal practices. Each month will include practice, and discussion of challenges and insights in our practices.
Drop-in fee is $15 per class.
Upcoming Fall Meditation Matintenance classes will be held on:
- Wed, Nov 7 (7-9 PM)
- Wed, Dec 5 (7-9 PM)
Preregistration is not required, but appreciated by e-mailing pressler@stressresources.com | |
|
| Greetings!
Resiliency: The ability to recover quickly from misfortune; ability to return to original form after being bent, compressed, or stretched out of shape. A human ability to recover quickly from disruptive change, or misfortune without being overwhelmed or acting in dysfunctional or harmful ways.
It is with the above definition that I frame this month's newsletter. October is a resilient month -- a glorious blaze of color and light, mindful that this precious moment of beauty will shift to quieter, grayer, reflective November. As humans, we too can be as resilient as October, even in the face of change. I have been awed and humbled by Dr. Randy Pausch's lecture, Lessons for Life: Really Achieving Childhood Dreams, which he delivered on September 18 at Carnegie Mellon University. I have included more details below.
I am encouraged by the work of dedicated individuals helping to build and support resiliency in our youth with innovative interventions. Check out the article below about labyrinths being constructed in schools in the Southwest.
Finally, I invite you to build your resiliency in ways that are self-nurturing and meaningful to you. Resiliency is giving ourselves permission to notice the NOW, in this season of brilliant color and change.
May your October be filled with blazing glory,
Pam
|
| Lessons for Life: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams |
|
|
Randy Pausch's Message of Hope, Humor & Healing
Skimming through the Wall Street Journal last week, I stumbled upon Jeffrey Zaslow's column, Moving On. Mr. Zaslow described a remarkable professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Randy Pausch, who recounted life lessons learned during his final lecture at Carnegie Mellon University on September 18, 2007.
Dr. Pausch is a brilliant academic researcher, a well-loved professor, a husband, a father with three young children, and is living with the diagnosis of terminal pancreatic cancer. The lecture. "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams", Dr. Pausch delivered to a packed auditorum has quickly become the buzz of the Internet; and has begun to be quoted from classrooms to corporate board rooms over the past week and a half. Far from being a depressing speech, it resonates with hope, humor and healing; and exemplifies what it means to be a reslient human being. In his talk, Dr. Pausch relects on perceived obstacles by stating, "Brick walls are there for a reason. They let us prove how badly we want things". I know I will never look at a brick wall the same way again. Randy Pausch has asked Carnegie Mellon University not to copyright his last lecture, and instead leave it in the public domain. The University has agreed and has posted the lecture, in its entirety, as a Google Video on their website.
This is an incredible story of resilience and lessons learned from the dreams of childhood. It is inspiring, poignant, and relevant to all of us who often ask ourselves, "Are we having fun yet?". It is evident that Randy Pausch is having fun and still has much to teach us all.
|
| Labyrinths in Schools |
|
Building Resiliency One Step at a Time
Schools across the country are discovering the many benefits for students and staff of labyrinths. Building community and connection, as well as building a place of reflection and relaxation are all effective tools for strengthening resiliency.
Labyrinths are ancient tools of meditation that have achieved a new found interest among healthcare providers, educators and holistic practitioners as a natural way of calming the mind and body. Labyrinths differ from mazes, in that a labyrinth is made up of only one path, as contrasted with a maze which has many paths and blind alleys. Labyrinths allow access to the creative mind, letting go of analytical, processing mind for a short time.
The non-profit Labyrinth Resource Group in Santa Fe, New Mexico has helped design and build several labyrinths with schools in the Southwest. They have a wealth of information in their online resource guide for community and school groups interested in installing labyrinths as a tool for resilience.
| |
|
|
|
